Mar 5, 2013

An Amazing Up Close to the Hanging Coffins of Sagada

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The Hanging Coffins of Sagada is a mirror to one's tradition way before the conquerors arrived.

Long time ago, even before the colonizers arrived in the Philippines, the
people of the Cordillera have their own traditions and customs. They have their
own hierarchy, attires, family connections, dances, rituals, ceremonies and
burial tradition. One of the preserved way of entombing (not actually the same
way as burial) is the so-called “hanging” of the caskets of their dead loved
ones. And these Hanging Coffins testify that yes, even before the conquerors
came, the people were already civilized.

Sagada travel video

Nothing Beats Plain
Nature Adventure: Sagada

The Hanging Coffins can be found in one of the high rock formations down
below the Echo Valley, which is at the back of the graveyard of Sagada. To
reach the coffins, you have to start at the stone church, follow the signs going to
Echo Valley. So after a few minutes of realizing things in the Echo Valley, I
and my friend decided to explore more of the place and find this mysteriously
cultural way of burying dead people.

Centuries ago, the people of Sagada are pagans. When we say pagans, they
do not believe in church or Christ because first and foremost, they were not
introduced to so-called deity. But we have to seclude the term ‘atheist’
because they have their own gods, but it is in a different form. Atheists do
not believe in divinity, pagans believe there are gods in the form of nature.

Trekking in the Echo Valley on our way to the Hanging Coffins

Nature @ Echo Valley

My Sagadan friend explained to me that people who died in Sagada were once
preserved by mummification, compress their bones and fit the whole body in the
small coffin. They then hang it in the high limestone formations. The coffins
were hung because they do not want their dead loved ones to be buried
underground, which then after will be walked on by several beings. They also
believe that the rocks are gods themselves and that they are sacred. No wonder
you have to respect the nature in Sagada once you visit it too.

Limestone rock formation

Up-close Hanging Coffins of Sagada

From the Echo Valley, there is a path that will lead you to the hanging
coffins. You make sure though you are in the right track because there are also
crossroads along the way. When I saw the up-close hanging coffins of Sagada, I
was amazed that they indeed survived the time and up until now, it’s an
artifact that make us realize that the old traditions were there long centuries
ago.

The hanging coffins can be dated older than the oldest great grandparent
that you had but some are recently put up. Maybe if the Americans did not go to
this mountain village of Sagada, most of the rock formations there must have
been used to hang hundreds of coffins. It’s not only in the Echo Valley that
you will get to see the hanging coffins, there were also other places which my
friend pointed out when we were in the Echo Valley.

A cave along the way to the hanging coffins.

Hanging Coffins, Sagada

The Hanging Coffins of Sagada were a mirror to one’s old tradition. The
ones in the Echo Valley are the only coffins you can get to see up-close so
take your time to get souvenir photos. BUT I remind you, just everywhere in
that place is sacred, and inasmuch as possible, respect everything. Do not even
touch the coffins (if you can reach them). It’s a living legend and we want the
tradition to live more for the other generations to see.

I really love this particular Echo Valley Tour in Sagada. It didn’t have
these white sand beaches or recreational matters but the heritage and culture I
knew were enough for me to appreciate more of Sagada. This Echo Valley tour is
the shortest and least tiring of all, because you can extend the Echo Valley
tour to the Underground River a few meters from it. After the Echo Valley tour
(excluding Underground River), we went up again to the graveyard and directed
to the store near the church. We drank some soft drinks, took a short rest and
went down the downtown. What follows next are the ‘stacked wooden coffins’ of
the popular Lumiang Cave.

If you feel like you have questions in mind, feel free to comment down here. Note: Please do use Name/URL in commenting so I know whom to address the answers. You don't have to fill up URL if you don't have one.

Dear Traveler,Good day, magandang araw, bon jour. I know you want to travel to the Philippines. Do you prefer cool winds in Baguio or beaches in Western Pangasinan? Or somewhere in Luzon like Subic-Clark-Tarlac? Or right away in Manila? Cebu in Central Philippines is also a good choice.